IND vs NZ Highlights: New Zealand beat India by 21 runs, take 1-0 series lead

12 RUNS! 0 Wd 0 2 4 4 1 - Good start for New Zealand. Finn Allen (11*) smashed two back-to-back fours off Hardik Pandya in the over, one over mid-off fielder towards long-off and the next towards long-on.

India skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to field first against New Zealand in Ranchi.

The average first innings score is 156. Square boundaries are little over 60 and straight boundaries are little over 70, in the corner around the players pavilion it's only 57 and 59 metres. The pitch looks excellent, there is even covering of grass and there might be some help with the new ball. There is a lot of talk about the dew, the curator kept the grass as minimum as possible on the outfield to negate the dew factor. The ball will skid on nicely, but looks an excellent pitch for batting." -- Ajit Agarkar and Danny Morrison

Left-hander Devon Conway showed his imperious form for the Black Caps scoring 138 from 100 balls as they gave India a run for their money in their defence of 386 in Indore. Michael Bracewell too was at his consistent best with 188 runs from three matches as they would look to carry their momentum in the T20 leg.

In the last ODI, India had got a chance to witness 'Kul-Cha' in action after a long time but come the T20s, India may have to fret over the inclusion of either Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal. Chahal has been the preferred option in the format and in the absence of Axar Patel it remains to be seen if the leg-spinner is persisted.

There was also a bright spot in the bowling department with Shivam Mavi capping an impressive debut with 4/22. Mavi bowled with pace and the way he cleaned up Pathum Nissanka is still fresh in the mind. The speedster would look to form a potent combination with Umran Malik.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, who returned from injury, was in the eye of the storm in the series against Sri Lanka. He leaked 37 runs in two overs as India lost the T20I in Pune, their only reverse in the 2-1 series win. He would look to come up with a tidy show.

Gill has been in the form of his life, especially in the ODIs where he has scored his career-best 208 to go alongside two centuries in last four innings. When it comes to the T20 format, the elegant Punjab batter may look a bit iffy but he has showed that he has all the shots in his armoury to cement the opening slot. In such a scenario, it remains to be see how Pandya slots in the spirited Shaw as he may have to wait for his chance.

There is also the welcome addition of attacking Mumbai opener Prithvi Shaw, who returns to the team on the back of a series of superlative performances in the domestic cricket including a record-breaking 379 against Assam in the Ranji Trophy.

While skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami are being rested, the likes of Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Kuldeep Yadav will get an extended run before they assemble for Test series camp at Nagpur from February 2.